MLB Rumors: 5 Prospects who can help Royals in 2018
By Connor Lynch
The Kansas City Royals are not off to the hottest start in 2019. Which prospects could make an impact this year?
Just four years removed from a World Series Championship, the Kansas City Royals enter the 2019 season with just two players on their 25-man roster who appeared in the 2015 World Series, namely Alex Gordon and Adalberto Mondesi. With such significant roster turnover, Dayton Moore and the Royals must turn to what brought them out of a 30-year World Series drought — the farm system.
Eight games into the season, the roster consists of high-performing, home-grown position players such as Whit Merrifield and Adalberto Mondesi. Additionally, the starting rotation has gotten off to a strong start, large in part to Brad Keller’s three quality starts in three appearances, tied for the league lead.
However, there have been two glaring holes in the 2019 Royals. First, the bullpen has given Ned Yost and Royals fans no confidence for the remainder of the season, collectively yielding a 7.77 ERA through eight games and blowing lead after lead. Second, despite solid run production, the bottom of the order has been stagnant.
The Royals will certainly look to the farm system in hopes to bolster the bullpen and gain production from the bottom half of the order. These five prospects have a strong chance at impacting the 2019 Royals.